Holy shit! Two updates in less than 24 hours! I can't believe it tbh XD

Anyways, I hope you guys are satisfied now that you know why Richie was put up for adoption :D. There's some adorable Mileven and Reddie in this chapter XD

Also! Hopper meets the Losers for the first time next chapter and gets the surprise of his life (not really, you'll see next chapter)!

Dinner had gone pretty well, at least, until Nancy had forced their parents to give them an explanation as to why one of her brothers had been given up for adoption. Long story short, the Wheeler's had no clue they were expecting twins, and they could barely afford another baby at the time, as the pregnancy had been an accident, and they hadn't exactly had money out the ass back, then according to Ted. It was his idea to give him up for adoption, which Richie had been pretty iffy about, mumbling under his breath to Eddie when they were alone for all of two seconds. There had been a lot of tears from Karen, Nancy, and even a tear or two from Mike, which he wiped away when no one was looking. Richie didn't really react much to it, other than hugging her and telling her it was alright when she finished telling them.

After dinner, just like Mike had told him, Ted went into the living room for the night, so the rest of the family went downstairs to the remodeled basement so they could talk freely. There was a couch, a love seat on the opposite wall, and a table with six chairs around it.

"That's where we played D and D." Mike told him when he saw that he'd been looking at it. "Mom won't get rid of it."

"You'd think she would, considering how much she used to complain about it." El said, crawling inside a fort that Richie hadn't noticed until now. She motioned for Eddie to follow her, and he did, the two fitting inside it easily.

"What's with the fort?" He asked, sitting on the floor in front of Holly, who was excitedly running a brush through his hair. Mike sat on the floor across from him, leaning against the love seat, holding onto one of Lonora's hands as she spun in a circle.

"El loved forts when we were younger." Mike told him. "And when we first started dating and she started coming over, we set it up and it's been up ever since."

"Awesome. I bet it's awkward trying to sit in there now."

"Oh yeah, definitely. I'm way too tall." Richie snorted, nodding.

"Yeah, I see that."

They all talked among themselves, El and Eddie giggling in the fort, probably swapping embarrassing stories of their fiance and boyfriend. They'd come out a few minutes after Holly finished braiding his hair, only doing a couple... french braids? He couldn't remember what she called them, but he knew his head would be sore later but he just kept them for her sake.

"Nice look there, Richie." El joked. He scowled at her but ran a hand over his head, feeling the braids. It certainly felt weird.

"So, Richie, what do you do?" Jonathan asked, sitting at the table with Nancy and Karen.

"I'm in a band." He told him. "Lead singer."

"Really?" Richie hummed in response, sitting up fully and stretching, his back cracking. Lonora giggled at the sound.

"What's so funny, tiny child?" He asked sweetly, reaching his fingers out to tickle under her arms, causing her to squeal and duck under Mike's arm.

"How long have you and the band been together?" Karen asked.

"Four years. I've always really been into music, since I could remember."

"Me and the rest of our friends all pitched in and bought him his first guitar when we were fourteen." Eddie said, grinning proudly. Richie smiled throwing an arm around Eddie's shoulders.

"I've never cried harder than that day."

"Mike cried when he got his first guitar too." Nancy said.

"Stop exposing me." Mike glared at her and she snorted.

"What, it's true! I've got pictures actually." Karen said, grinning evily. Mike's eyes widened.

"Don't you dare." She cackled at the face he made. She winked at Richie.

"I'll show you one day." She told him. He chuckled.

"Why don't you sing something?" Jonathan asked.

"I don't know." Richie bit his lip.

"Mike could sing with you." El suggested.

"Mike will do what now?" She rolled her eyes at him, poking him in the side.

"You heard me."

"You sing too, Mike?" Eddie asked. Mike just shrugged.

"He does." El answered for him.

"Mom used to get him, Dustin, Lucas, and Will to sing at our Christmas Eve parties when they were younger." Holly said. "They were pretty good. The only time I ever hear him sing now though is when we're in the car and he's screaming along to the radio." She gave him a glare as he laughed.

"What? It's my favorite thing to do." He said, shrugging.

"Come on, Chee, sing something." Eddie said, looking at him.

"Sing!" Lonora cheered, clapping her hands and grinning at him. She walked over to him, leaning down and grabbing one of his hands in her tiny ones. "Pwease?" She asked sweetly, looking up at him with big brown eyes.

"You, tiny child, are gonna be a heart breaker one day." Richie sighed. "What song would you like to hear, m'lady?" He asked, knowing she wouldn't answer. She just giggled at the voice, and he looked at Eddie, who had the happiest smile on his face. "Got any suggestions, Eds?" Eddie scowled at him, but then said,

"Only You." He said, sitting back and crossing his arms. Richie rolled his eyes, he should have known, it was one of Eddie's favorite songs. He made a show of clearing his throat, causing the others to laugh. He started singing, smiling at Lonora, who still held his hand, swaying back and forth.

Only you make all this world seem right
Only you can make the darkness bright
Only you and you alone
Can thrill me like you do
And fill my heart with love for only you

Richie almost stopped when he heard Mike start singing along with him, shocked by the second voice. He always sang alone.

Only you can make all this change in me
For it's true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand
I understand the magic that you do
You're my dream come true
My one and only you

They didn't sing the whole song, but Karen could not keep the smile off her face when they finished. Both men had red cheeks when they finished, and she couldn't help but notice the way El and Eddie looked at them with so much love.

"That was awesome, you two." Jonathan said, clapping. Everyone else joined in, including Lonora who was beaming at her two uncles.

"Thanks." They mumbled together, giving each other weird looks afterwards.

The group continued their conversations, Holly and Lonora taking up most of Richie's attention, as Holly decided to give her a play by play of all the fights she'd been in recently, and the fact that Lonora kept crawling up his arm and trying to sit on his shoulders, which she managed to do multiple times. She'd barely acknowledged Mike that night, which, as much as he loves his niece, he was kind of grateful for.

Around 10 o'clock, everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Karen told them multiple times that they were welcome anytime they wanted, day or night, and Richie couldn't wipe the smile off his face, no matter how hard he tried, even when he and Eddie walked into Bev's house. Everyone was still up, watching a movie, which had been paused so that they could ask them questions.

"Was Ted an asshole?"

"Was it awkward, meeting them?"

"Were they accepting of you two?"

"Did your sisters react in a good way?"

"Did anyone cry?"

"What are they like?"

"Okay, shut up and let him talk, guys!" Eddie said loudly, shutting everyone up. Richie then went on to explain the nights events to them, about how awkward it was meeting Ted, all the way down to how obsessed his little niece was with him. After an hour of recounting the story to them, the two went to bed, strangely exhausted from everything.

"So, I'm assuming you had a good time tonight?" Eddie asked him softly, running his hands through Richie's hair, one arm wrapped around his waist. Richie nodded, pulling Eddie closer to him.

"It went a lot better than I thought it would."

"I'm glad. I love you." He kissed Richie's nose lightly and he grinned at him.

"I love you too, Eds. Only you."

Mike and El were having a somewhat similar conversation, in their own bed. Mike had his arms wrapped around El, her head on his chest while he played with a strand of hair.

"I'm glad everything went good tonight." She told him. He smiled and hummed in agreement.

"Richie straight up stole all of Nora's attention from me." He mumbled.

"Awe, are you jealous?" She joked. He chuckled.

"No, I'm glad she did, honestly. I thought she'd be a bit more freaked out by him. You know, having the same face and all." She snorted and nodded.

"Yeah. It was adorable though." He hummed again.

"I love you." He whispered. "Only you." She giggled at that, pecking his lips before cuddling deeper into the mattress.

"I love you too."